Iceland

Rauðfeldar Canyon, Iceland [Photo: Open Door Travelers]

We have been to Iceland twice. Once to meet our daughters on a 4 day lay-over on their way to visit us in the UK in 2015 and and once in 2017 on a two week trip around the Ring Road. Our Ring Road Blog is under the Travel Blog Tab of the website. If you have specific questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

– Phil & Diane

Enjoying a Beer at the Blue Lagoon. [Photo: Open Door Travelers]

Getting to Iceland is relatively straightforward with multiple daily flights from many American, European, and Asian cities. Iceland Airlines, Wow Airlines, and EasyJet all offer deeply discounted airfares and may even have ongoing specials that allow you to layover in Iceland for up to a week enroute to another location (e.g, from US to Europe or from Asia to US).

However, be warned that once you get there, Iceland is an outrageiously expensive destination. You can read about our most recent trip in our Ring Road Blog under the Travel Blog Tab.

Please email us if you have a specific question about getting to Iceland.

– Phil & Diane

Staying in Iceland

The Iconic Black Church near Hótel Búðir. [Photo: Open Door Travelers]

On our 2017 Ring Road Trip, we stayed at different hotels each nigh as we worked our way around the Ring Road. Nordic Visitors did an excellent job of booking our accomodations for us each night. These are the places where we stayed and we would be pleased to recommend each of them.

Eating in Iceland

A Bonus Grocery Store in Iceland. [Photo: Open Door Travelers]

Dinner at Apotek in Reykjavik. [Photo: Open Door Travelers]

On both of our trips to Iceland, most of our Breakfasts were taken in the hotels or B&B's where we stayed. On our Ring Road trip, most of our dinners were also taken in the hotels where we stayed because the locations were remote enough that the hotel dining was the ONLY dining available. While we didn't have a bad meal, all them were outrageously expensive. We found ourselves saying “Wow!” at every single meal. Sometimes we Wow’ed at the wonderful flavors and textures of the delicious Arctic Char which is a salmonid fish that thrives in the many fresh water lakes and rivers. Other times, we Wow’ed at the expensive prices. We averaged, as in the median price we paid for dinners, 35,000ISK ($320USD) for meals with modest bottles of wine. The best single meal we had was actually our last night in Reykjavik at the restaurant, Apotek. The worst thing that we ate was Kæstur Háharl (fermented shark) at the Shark Museum on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, but his may actually just be a cruel joke to play on tourists.

For lunches, we stopped into the National Grocery Chain, "Bonus" - with the Piggly Wiggly mascot. Really. - and picked up sandwich and snack items to eat on the road.

– Phil & Diane

Exploring Iceland

Seljalandsfoss Water Fall in Iceland. [Photo: Open Door Travelers]

The best way to explore Iceland is to commit a couple of weeks and head out on the Ring Road, This is our full Blog Entry which you can also find under the Travel Blog Tab.

Iceland Expenses

When you come to Iceland, bring a spare credit card because you may max one out. Iceland is outrageously expensive. In US Dollars, you can expect to pay $6.00 for a soda with lunch and $15.00 to $20.00 for a cheeseburger. Our total Ring Road Trip cost a little over $6,000.00 for 12 Hotel Nights with Breakfasts included and rental of a 4x4 SUV for 12 days. On top of that we paid on average, $300.00 for dinners including a bottle of wine.